The flossing of teeth is an integral part of dental hygiene. Whether applied by a dentist or one's self, flossing frequently results in bleeding of the gums. Proper treatment requires the utilization of multiple lengths of floss, thus requiring the practitioner to systematically remove floss from its dispenser. Such a systematic approach may lead to the contamination of the dispenser and the floss contained therein by infectious materials subsisting within the patient's body fluids (i.e. saliva and blood).
Recently the transmission of highly infectious communicable diseases, carried and transmitted through human blood and other body fluids, has received tremendous public attention. Although a myriad of dental floss dispensers are well known, only the present invention provides a practical, economical, and ecological means of preventing the transmission of such diseases through dental flossing.
Two prior art dental floss holders are illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,554,526 to Dembenski, and 2,707,782 to Eby. Both of these prior inventions relate to dental floss holders characterized by a housing, encasing a spool of dental floss, from which a pair of fingers extend. The free end of the dental floss may be drawn from the spool and stretched between the free ends of the fingers. The floss is then manually locked into place by wrapping the floss around a post or the like on the housing. Both of these dispensers are operated by forcing the dental floss between adjacent teeth with the long arms of the dispenser extending into the mouth. The user must then manually unlock the floss, draw a new length of floss and lock it into place. This results in the contamination of the newly positioned floss. Further, both of these prior inventions taught an altogether different mode of operation, specifically, the insertion of the extending fingers and the floss running therebetween into the mouth. Such a device would require continued manipulation by the operator and would result in contamination of the housing and the floss therein. Further, neither of these units include arrangements for holding floss in place as floss is dispensed.
It is further noted that dental floss dispensers used by dentists include a variety of table top and hand-held dispensers with a housing, which may be constructed from a variety of materials, encasing the floss. These dispensers generally contained an orifice or slot in the housing permitting the passage of the floss. The user of these units was required to manipulate the floss over a raised cutter mounted in the housing, and the user's fingers would normally engage the housing, and could contaminate the housing and floss. The first slit caught the floss and the second cut it. Contamination is inevitable while operating these dispensers since the user was required to continuously handle the floss and its dispenser with his/her contaminated fingers.
Concerning the use of dental floss at home, the contaminated floss dispenser is normally placed in a drawer or in the medicine cabinet, where it is often forgotten, and not used as often as would be desirable. In addition the floss is not easily drawn out of the dispenser, as the floss lies close to the surface of the container.